Fleeting Moments: On the Character of Conrad

Joanna Baillie's first gothic play, De Monfort, is a fairly straight forward play. The plot unfolds within the span of a few days, keeping with the common theatrical concept of unity of time. Being that it is, as the title of the anthology implies, a Gothic drama, it must contain a bit of the supernatural, even if that be the tiniest wisp. With this in mind, I want to examine the character of Conrad.

The Character De Monfort in a British Production of the Play

We first see him at the end of the first scene of Act IV. He enters and begs audience with Freberg, believing him to be De Monfort. Freberg replies he is not the man who Conrad speaks of and Conrad responds, both apologizing slightly and flattering greatly. Freberg gets swept up in the lovely words of this mysterious man and tells him that he may be able to recommend Conrad to the actual De Monfort. Conrad, with courteous and lofty language, thanks Freberg, but says he already has a dear friend to recommend him, Rezenvelt. The scene ends with Freberg telling Conrad to come back the next day and make no mention of Rezenvelt. Freberg exits and Conrad soliloquizes that he will present himself to De Monfort as an enemy of Rezevelt in order to gain his favor.

Our second meeting with Conrad is just as quick. He is presented to De Monfort, who proceeds to shoo him away until Conrad states that he is a foe of Rezenvelt. This changes De Monfort's mood abruptly. De Monfort begins to hang on everything Conrad says. The stranger goes on to tell De Monfort that it is common knowledge that Rezenvelt intends to marry his sister, Lady Jane De Monfort. De Monfort becomes even more agitated, and starts to lose touch with reality and the other people in the room. Conrad sees this and frets, saying he has "rous'd a fierce ungovernable madman" (pg 51).

These are our only encounters with Conrad. His entrance is at an interesting time in the play. It is the beginning of the fourth act and common sense leads us to believe we are at, or are approaching, the climax of the action. If this is so, we must hold this fleeting encounter as important to the plot. But this is where our questions begin. Who is Conrad? Why exactly did he want to meet with De Monfort? Why does Rezenvelt recommend him? What are his intentions? There seem to be some sinister machinations behind  this sudden meeting.

The Crafty Servant Syrus (on left) in Terence's The Self Tormentor

One of the first things that struck me about Conrad's character was before the play began. On the list of characters, Conrad is described as an artful knave. What does artful knave mean? Upon seeing this for the first time, I immediately compared him to the crafty servant stereotype, which began in Ancient Roman comedy, continued through Shakespeare and through to today. A crafty servant molds situations to suit their needs and desires, following master's orders only if it benefits them. I kept this in mind as I read, anticipating that Conrad would be a key figure in the action. However, he did not stick to this. His brief involvement in the story did not allow him to really alter situations to meet his wishes as much as the Roman playwright Terence's crafty servants. Conrad does admit to altering his story to present himself to De Monfort, but shows remorse in doing so. Crafty servants rarely show such remorse.

The next theory I pondered was that Conrad is a parasite character, another ancient stereotype so often reused in drama. Like the servant character, parasites bend situations to fit their desires, usually for money, power, or notoriety. Conrad does seem to have altered the situation to benefit himself, but again he shows uncharacteristic remorse.

Looking into Conrad's actions I saw another type of character he could possibly be. Conrad's words launched De Monfort into a frenzy. Upon rumors Conrad suggested, De Monfort was sent on a path that led to his eventual murder of Rezenfelt. This seemed familiar. Was it not Zofloya that sent Victoria on a path to her undoing? Conrad's remorse is called into question. Was it sincere? If it was, he could not have been a Zofloya-like character. Satan shows no remorse, for that is his greatest sin according to Milton. Milton suggests that if Lucifer showed remorse to God, God may have let him rejoin the heavenly realm. Was Conrad's remorse an act of artifice?




Discussion Questions:
1. Who is Conrad to you? What does he represent? What are his intentions? What is his significance? Are there other similarities between him and Zofloya? How about other characters we have discussed?

2. How is his character used? Could you consider his character as a plot device? Could the play have progressed in the same manner if his character were removed?